A bomb squad detonated an explosive device “very similar to a pipe bomb” that was found in a Colorado high school on Monday, a bomb scare that forced the evacuation of the school and the closure of a nearby road for several hours as officials investigated.

Cmdr. Gene McCausey said that the explosive device could have hurt those in close proximity had it exploded without being removed from the school building by a teacher at Centaurus High School in Lafayette, Colo.

The FBI and ATF are now involved with the investigation as well, according to officials.

“It was an explosive device -- so that’s pretty serious,” McCausey said. “It’s taken serious. You can tell by the response.”

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A teacher found the suspicious package inside the school and took it outside. It was removed from the campus by a robot around 11:30 a.m., driven up the road and detonated around 12:30 p.m. in a dirt construction lot near South Boulder Road and Plaza Drive away from the school.

Police responded to the school shortly after 9 a.m. today on a report of a bomb. Lafayette police Sgt. Peter Voris said the students were evacuated to a field at nearby Ryan Elementary but were later released for the day.

“Especially with what’s happened around the nation recently, we are taking this very seriously,” he said.

Many of the students walking home from the school said they didn’t know what was going on at first.